Manufacturer Ozempic offers new ‘extraordinary’ weight loss pill Amycretin

Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk has developed a pill that can cause weight loss of up to 13% in three months, according to new trial results.

Amycretin is unusual because it mimics the appetite-suppressing hormone GLP-1, like Ozempic but also amylin, a hormone that makes people feel full and helps control blood sugar.

And while Ozempic and similar medications are injectable prescription drugs, Amycretin is a daily tablet.

“A single molecule targeting both amylin and GLP-1 biologics in tablet form may provide a more convenient approach to achieving better outcomes for overweight or obese individuals,” the researchers said before presenting their findings. this week at the European Study Association. of diabetes in Madrid.

Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant behind Ozempic and Wegovy, conducted the 12-week study of overweight or obese people who received Amycretin or a placebo. Participants did not have diabetes.

Volunteers who took 50 milligrams of Amycretin lost an average of 10.4% of their body weight over three months. Those who took twice as much, the maximum dose tested, lost 13.1%.

Placebo users fell an average of 1.1%.

For comparison, a recent study found that Mounjaro patients lost 5.9% of their body weight in three months, while Ozempic users lost 3.6%.

Side effects of amicretin include nausea and vomiting, but they are reported to be mostly mild to moderate.

A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk told The Post that the drug appears “safe” and “well tolerated.”

“Daily oral amycretin treatment in overweight or obese adult participants without diabetes demonstrated acceptable safety and tolerability profiles and led to significant reductions in body weight over just 12 weeks,” the researchers wrote in their abstract.

“Furthermore, the lack of weight reduction indicates the possibility of achieving further weight reduction with prolonged treatment,” they added.

It’s unclear when Amycretin will hit the market if it passes all of its testing.

A Phase 1 trial of a subcutaneous form of Amycretin, given via injection like Ozempic, is expected to be completed next year. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk has started Phase 2 trials of the drug for people with diabetes.

Dr. Andrea Bedrosian, director of bariatrics and minimally invasive surgery at North Shore University Hospital, called a weight-loss pill “good news” for those struggling with obesity.

“Of course, more testing over longer periods of time is needed to determine the safety, efficacy and tolerability of this treatment,” Bedrosian, who was not involved in the research, told The Post. “Judgment should be reserved until larger, longer-term Phase 2 and 3 trials are completed and published in peer-reviewed journals.”

The preliminary findings come as the popularity of Ozempic and similar drugs is causing a nationwide shortage — despite reports that the drugs can cause intestinal obstruction, a rare blinding disease and even death.

Meanwhile, researchers have been testing these drugs to see what else they can treat beyond weight loss.